Water-gage.



R. BUCKNER.

WATER GAGE. l{rPLIoATIoN HLED DB0. 29,1908.

'Patnted Dec.l 7, y1909.

j 4 au l n Z @m7 To all whom it may concern:

ROBERT H. BUCKNER, F PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA.

WATER-GAGE..

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee. 7, 190e;

Application led December 29, 1908. Serial No. 469,869.

Be it known that I, ROBERT H. BUCKNER,

. a citizen of the United States, residing at Portsmouth, ln the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in W'ater- Gages, of which the and exact description.

The water' gages on locomotives frequently break under sudden exposure to changing air currents and variations in temperature, with the result that the engineer is dangerously exposed to the'flying glass and hot Water. These gages have been inclosed in various kinds of shields tovprevent the escape ofthe broken glass and the hot water, but sofar as I am aware, little, if any, account has been taken in constructing such shields of the' necessity of thoroughly preserving the unobstructed inspection of the gage glass and its illumination at all times and the control of the direction of escape of the water in thel event of the breaking of the glass.

The object of this invention is to meet these requirements in a simple, cheap and efficient manner.

The invention consists of a water age, having a shield in which theI gage tu e is directly mounted, said shield being of metal, in a single piece, with a pocket for the reception of a face piece of thick glass, and perforations for illumination of the glass tube and for the escape of water away from the engineer in case of the breaking of the glass tube.

In the accompanying drawings, illustratv ing the invention, in the several figures of L The shield of this inventionis a tubular 50` casting 1, having internally screwthreaded ends 2=and flanges 3. out from the front" of the shield, and has its lower end 5 closed, its uppcrjend 6 open,

and its front provided with a longitudinal.

opening 7. There is a row of holes^8 in one side,

extending lengthwise of the shield,

foilowingis a full, clear,

tube 1l in the shie Fig. 3 is a longi A pocket 4 extends' and a similar row of holes t) in the shield opposite the pocket, so that light may fully pass into the shield. At the lower end are the perforated lugs 10 to receive a light of any sort. v v l The gage glass tube 11 is placed in the flanges 3 and its ends surrounded by packing rings 12 which are'compressed in place by the fittings 13 and 14 used in connection with the boiler mountings. As shown, the fitting 13 ma be a part of the valve 15. Any suitable fittings capable of securing the d in a leak-tight'manner The shield is enough larger than the tube 1l to allow free circulation of aiiI around it and to relieve it. of undue metallic contact. In the pocket 4 is placed a piece of thick and strong glass 16,

may be employed.

1n practice about a half inch thck, so as to be capable of resisting the flying glass of a broken tube and yet permit clear vision of the tube when the latter is intact and in working order. The row of holes 9 opposite this plate of glass admits light into the shield so as to insure illumination sufficient to enable the engineer to read the gage readily.

The invention is not limited to rows of holes 8 and 9, to form the light and 'air openings. The openings 8 and 9 not only admit light and air, but they serve the additional purpose of permitting the escape of water in case the glass tube breaks, and they and the upper open end of the pocket are so arranged as to direct the escaping Water away from the engineer and thus save him from being scalded.

It will be noticed that the shield 1- serves to receive the glass tube 1l directly as a holder therefor, and thus becomes a part of the water gage, in addition to serving as a shield. It is to be noted that the shield is in a single piece, and thus the gl ss may be inserted in the shield at the Sheff;q ready for attachment to the locomotive or boiler wherl ever it ma be. In other words, it is not necessary, indeed it is not possible, to first insert the glass in osition on the boiler and thenapplythe siiield. This construction not only has the advantage of enabling the manufacturer to .assemble the parts and carry them in stock thus assembled, but it' also overcomes the possibility of the shield being purposely or otherwise detached.

Experiments have demonstrated that the rows of holes 8 and 9,

arranged substantially The best results in this respect have beeny obtained by the use of round holes, as shown in the drawings.

What I claim is t 1. A water gage, having a glass tube for the Water7 and a combined singlepiece tube vholder and shield comprising essentially a metal tube provided With means for receiving and seating the vglass tube, and having openings arranged at right angles to admit t light and air and permit the escape of water in case the glass breaks, and a vertically slotted pocket containing a thick plate of glass. 2.- A Water age, havinga glass tube, and

'a combined tu e holder and shield comprising essentially a tubular 4casing in a single piece provided with means to receive the ttings byvwhich it may be mounted upon a boiler, flanges to receive the glass tube and Vagainst whlch it may be packed, and a pocket having front and topvopenings, said casting also having an opening opposite to thepocket, and a glass plate inserted in said pocket.

3, A Water age, having a lass tube, and a -combined tu e holder and iield made as a single piece and com rising essentially a tubular casing providedJ with means to receive the fittings by which it may be mounted upon a boiler, llanges to receive the glass tube and against which it may be packed, anda pocket having front and top openings, said castin also having an opening opposite to the poc et, and other openings between the pocket and the opening last named, and a glass plate inserted in said pocket.

4. A Water gage, havin a glass tube for the water, and a combine tube holder and shield comprising essentially in a single casting a metal tube provided with means for -receiving and seating the glass tube, and having .openings to admit light and air and permit the escape of water in case the glass breaks, lugs to receive an illuminating agent, and a pocket containing a thick plate of lass. g In testimonylwhereof I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day of December A. I).

ROBT. H. BUCKNER. Witnesses:

HEBER C. CASSELL, DAvrs A.. ROBERTSON. 

